


to have you (in my arms, safe and sound)

by ohsoblue



Category: NoPixel
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsoblue/pseuds/ohsoblue
Summary: Siz takes a bullet for Saab.
Relationships: Siz Fulker/Al Saab
Kudos: 12





	to have you (in my arms, safe and sound)

**Author's Note:**

> don't even ask how i powered through this to get it posted so quickly. i blame my love for saab and siz. might seem a little rushed but oh well, I'm happy with it. hope you like it, too.
> 
> you can find me over on twitter [@imightbeblue (ohsoblue) ](https://twitter.com/imightbeblue)

It happens so fast. One second, Saab is there with his hands in the air, the next, a shot is going off at the masked guys in front of him. He swivels his head, even as he’s moving for cover, and what he sees is Siz, firing bullet after bullet from his shotgun. The masked individuals begin responding in kind. The urge to help Siz is so strong, but when his hands go for his pockets, he remembers his gun was taken.

But just like that, the fight is over, and the masked individuals are getting in the car, one of them toting their unconscious friend away. Siz stands there under the flickering light of a lamp, the ocean crashing against the dock. When the car disappears behind a shipping container, Siz is dropping his shotgun, hand pressing against his chest. Which isn’t covered by a vest. Something that Saab is now taking notice of.

“You idiot,” Saab shouts, racing over shrapnel and leaping over the fallen gun. His hands steady Siz’s shoulders, trying to get a good look at the injury. All he can see is blood slowly seeping through tightly clenched fingers. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, why’d you do that? Fuck.”

“I wasn’t about.. To let you get taken in front of me again,” Siz says with a soft wheeze that Saab only hears because he’s this close to him. “I couldn’t let that happen. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Call someone?” Saab suggests, pressing a hand against Siz’s, keeping the pressure on the wound. 

“Who?” Siz asks, eyebrow raised. “Your boys are asleep right now.”

He has a point, but still! 

“What about your guys?” Saab asks, his heart pounding away in his chest as their hands slowly turn red. “Shit, that’s a lot of blood.”

“On a job,” Siz rasps, shivering. And then, his knees collapse. Without Saab to catch him, he would have hit the ground hard- as it is, Saab manages to lower him down until he’s resting against the cold asphalt. 

“Hold on,” Saab says, shrugging off his jacket to shove under Siz’s head. Then, as he’s pulling out his phone, he uses his other hand to apply pressure again. “You’re so fucking stupid.”

His voice is thick with emotion and when he blinks, he can feel something trickle down his cheeks. He tries to hold it together as he’s on the phone with EMS, but it’s hard. He doesn’t like seeing Siz like that. Why’d he have to do something so reckless?

“Hey,” Siz speaks up, fingertips trailing over the tear tracks on Saab’s right cheek. “You always were a crybaby.”

“Shut the fuck up, now is not the time for this,” Saab yells, almost dropping his phone. He can hear the EMS trying to speak to him, but… Damn it. This is bad. Siz’s shivering has stopped and he doesn’t know what that means.

Siz’s eyes flutter a few times, but he continues to keep them open because he’s just that stubborn sometimes. In a situation like this, it gives Saab hope.

“Yeah, I’m still here,” Saab says into the phone, but he doesn’t know if he’s directing it to Siz, who is starting to stare off into space, or if he’s telling the EMS. Either way, Saab’s palm cups the hand on his cheek. Overcome with the urge, Saab presses a kiss to Siz’s palm and watches the way Siz’s lips twitch into one of those subtle smiles of his.

And then Siz’s hand goes limp. His eyes slide shut, head tilting to the side like a puppet getting its strings cut. 

“No, no, no, stay with me, you bastard,” Saab yells, pressing a few fingers to Siz’s neck, feeling a weak pulse. 

Saab gives up on holding the phone, letting it clatter to the floor next to his knees. He hauls Siz into his arms, putting Siz’s face to his chest. His other hand buries itself into Siz’s hair, stroking it. 

“They’ll be here soon, just stay with me,” Saab whispers against the top of Siz’s head. “Not you. I can’t lose you.”

* * *

He doesn’t know how long he’s there, Siz a heavy weight in his arms. The EMS come racing down to where they’re at, a few cops trailing not far behind as they take note of the violent scene. Saab doesn’t pay them any mind. As the EMS takes Siz from his arms, he grabs onto his hand and doesn’t let go.

He doesn’t know when Ripley gets to his side, but his hand is clasping Saab’s shoulder, a silent comfort. They both watch as Siz is loaded onto a stretcher and rushed to the ambulance. He knows that he’ll be held back if he tries to follow, but he makes the attempt anyway and is indeed held back by Ripley.

“Easy, buddy. Just a word and we’ll get you to the hospital in no time. I need to know what happened here,” Ripley says, gripping Saab’s shoulder once more. 

And so Saab tells him everything, leaving out the part where Siz stepped in with a shotgun. If no one thought to test Siz for GSR, he’s not going to say a word. 

When Ripley is wrapping up, Saab is offered a ride after a quick patdown. With no weapon on his person, he hops into the passenger seat and sits through an uncomfortably silent ride. The expression on Siz’s face after realizing he was shot is burned into his mind- like he knew what a terrible decision it was, how it hurt so much, but it had been worth it. And Saab… wants to hate him for that. But he can’t. He never could- never would.

* * *

The room they put Siz in is cold. Saab shivers and walks over to his bed, grabbing the sheets. He pulls them up and over the Siz’s chest, smoothing them down near his shoulders. As he stands there, taking in the way his chest moves up and down, Saab can feel his walls breaking down once again. He sniffs, rubbing his nose with the back of his arm, the other hand combing through Siz’s soft hair.

“The things you do to me,” Saab whispers to an almost empty room, bending down to press a kiss to Siz’s forehead. “You ever do that again and I-! I’ll…”

He grits his teeth against the ache in his throat, closing his eyes. It’s a fruitless attempt at holding back his tears, wondering why he even has more to offer. “So dumb…”

The doctor has told him that Siz will be released tomorrow after the overnight observation, but that he’ll have to take things easy. Knowing Siz, he will ignore those orders. But Saab won’t let him. He’ll be there to help him and make sure he rests as much as possible, even if Siz will no doubt complain about it.

Saab plops down at Siz’s bedside and gathers Siz’s hand, stroking over his knuckles. 

“For an hour straight, I’ve been thinking about what would happen if I didn’t have you in my life anymore,” Saab admits, squeezing Siz’s fingers. “And I have to say, I didn’t like any of it. When we fuck around and I- when I say I love you, I mean it, damn it. And I would never expect you to return those feelings, but… it killed me, thinking you were gonna die for me and I never got a chance to really sit you down to tell you. Shit…”

Saab jumps when Siz’s hand grips back, giving him a squeeze. He whirls his head around to look at him, eyes locking.

“Crybaby,” Siz rasps, with a little smile. His grays seem to glitter and it makes Saab’s heart beat faster. “....Love...too…”

“What?” Saab asks, leaning closer. He almost laughs when Siz gives him an irritated glare, but it softens as fast as it had appeared.

“Love you too,” Siz says. And just like that, as Saab looks down at him, the emotion of the day gets to him.

Saab leans down and presses his lips to Siz’s. When he pulls back, he gives Siz a stern stare and says, “Never again. Got that?”

Siz reaches up to push Saab’s face away.

“I’m not promising shit,” Siz says. “You’d do the same thing for me and you know it.”

Just to be mean, he pretends to bite Siz’s palm, but at the last second presses a kiss to his fingers.

“I hope you know what you’re in for,” Saab says, with a grin. “ _Boyfriend_.”

“Shut up,” Siz snaps, attempting to hide his face. 

Saab laughs and crawls up onto the bed, cuddling into his side.


End file.
